Review: The Wicked Will Rise – Danielle Paige

After reading the first book in the space of 2 days I read the second in a matter of two sittings and about 3-4 hours. This series has just been unputdownable for me, and it’s rare that that happens to me with a book – never mind a series. I’m very much a standalone reader!

So, after the first book we were left with Dorothy needing to embark on a quest before she can kill Dorothy. This picks up pretty much exactly where that left of, with just a little recap of the events of the first book and, what can I say, it was fantastic. It was about half the length of the first book but it was definitely all action and an improvement, in my eyes, on the first.

The dystopian Oz just gets darker and darker in this book, it has to be said. And the characters! We’re introduced to the Wingless Monkeys and we get a look at the versions of Polychrome and Bright, who featured in the original series by Baum, as envisioned by Paige in this Oz Dystopia which I loved.

My biggest issue with this is the romance. It is why I avoid YA books because the romance does often seem a bit forced or unnecessary. I love Amy, Amy in this book was just fantastic but I felt the whole thing with Nox was somewhat meh. And then there was this thing with Pete and… I just despair because this would honestly have been a 5* book if it wasn’t for the romance. The strongest part of this book is how many characters are badass girls! Badass girls who are off saving people and killing witches; if only they, or at least Amy, didn’t get distracted by boys!

So ultimately this is a 4/5 for me and I’m anticipating the 3rd book (I thought it was a duology, it is not) which is out next year some time. So it’ll be a long wait in which I may find myself reading the prequel novellas that Paige has written. I’m so glad these books were recommended to me because I probably wouldn’t have picked them up myself!